The Novak Djokovic debacle is finally done and dusted. He is out — deported, visa revoked for the second time, with the threat of being barred from entering Australia for the next three years.
Peng Shuai (Photo: Robbie Mendelson)
Back in 2021, the former tennis star and two times Grand Slam doubles champion, 35-year-old Peng Shuai, dropped a bombshell via the Chinese Twitter-style platform, Weibo, in a social media post in which she accuses former Vice Premier, 75-year-old Zhang Gaoli, of coercing her into having sex “about three years ago”.
Read More“I’m going to treat this match as if it’s my last one because it’s arguably the most important of my career. I’ll be giving it all I have possibly got in the tank,” said Novak Djokovic before Sunday’s US Open final. Despite being overshadowed, unusually, by the Women’s Final, the Men’s Final was hugely significant.
Significant, because were he to have won, he would have been the first man since Australian “Rocket” Rod Laver to win the Calendar Slam, all four majors in the same year. “Rocket,” who achieved this in 1969 and is now 83, may live in Australia, but he flew in to New York to witness the occasion.
Last night, Emma Raducanu won the US Open Women’s singles title. The scoreline was 6-4, 6-3 which looks straightforward enough — except it was anything but.
At 18 years old, Raducanu is the youngest Grand Slam champion since Maria Sharapova in 2004. She is also the only qualifier, male or female, ever to win a Grand Slam.
In the final, she was pitted against another wunderkind, the Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who is just a few months older and has also enthralled the New York crowds over the past fortnight.
In the end, Radcucanu was the one who held her nerve, despite overwhelming support for her opponent. That must have been unnerving for a player who until then had been the darling of the mainly New York crowds.
You’d think these two youngsters in their maiden Grand Slam final would be riddled with nerves on this huge occasion. Instead, we had a match of scintillating quality, with long, gruelling rallies – a match of extreme tension and a consistently high level of tennis.
Wimbledon was a fascinating tournament this year, except that it all went out with a bit of a whimper. Matteo Berrettini, the 25-year-old Italian heart-throb, won the initial set at his first Wimbledon Singles Final appearance, polishing off the tie-break with a thunderous serve down the tee. Initially, his opponent seemed a touch nervous. But anyone who thought he was in for a chance at winning the title against Novak Djokovic was dreaming. Novak got his act together and more or less breezed through to the finish line, winning in four sets by 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3.
Get the Serb on an off-day over the best-of-three sets in a lesser tournament and you might just stand a chance. Dan Evans managed it in Monte Carlo, an event more about the country club’s spectacular scenery and glamorous reputation, where the tennis appears to be somewhat secondary,
Read MoreStuff.co.nz
Novak Djokovic believes players don’t get a big enough cut of the revenue from grand slam tournaments.
OPINION: So, Novak Djokovic called a meeting of players to discuss, well we’re not really sure what exactly … there have been rumours of boycotts, breakaway unions and demands for more prize money. Read More
So, Wimbledon 2021 bids farewell to Roger Federer. It was a sad spectacle, really: spraying ground shots, missing easy volleys, being constantly passed and completely outclassed by the Polish player, Hubert Hurkacz, a 6’5” powerhouse whose game belies his gentle and shy nature.
Read MoreStuff.co.nz
OPINION: Imagine the scenario. Your name is Naomi Osaka, you’re a teenager, playing a Grand Slam final against Serena Williams, the home player, a legend and firm crowd favourite.
You win the drama-filled match and, as you hold the trophy, some twenty thousand fans are booing you. You pull your visor down over your face to hide your tears and try to block out the deafening jeers. And then you have to make a winner’s speech in front of this hostile crowd.
With Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer choosing not to play, Novak Djokovic decided to travel to New York for the US Open. Here was his golden opportunity to win another Slam and get closer to Federer’s record of 20.
He hadn’t lost a match this year. How could he not win this tournament?
Read More
By Katrina Allen
So, Wimbledon tennis this year has been cancelled, for the first time since WW2. The decision came late, leaving us all on tenterhooks, but really it was inevitable. Read More
This article appeared in Tennis Threads, the only printed British tennis magazine.
Billie-Jean was my idol. As a junior, I modelled my whole game on hers. In fact, I still think of her when I serve. Hers was a loose and languid action.
She attacked, she screamed when she missed a volley, slamming her racket on the net cord followed by a roar of frustration. The British public were shocked at the aggression but she didn’t seem to care.
I had a couple of coaching sessions with her when I was about 13.
She told my parents “she has a nice game”. I nearly fainted.
Our paths crossed a number of times after that. Every time she saw me she’d say ‘how are ya doing? how’s ya game?’ in her American drawl. I began to think I had a double. Surely she didn’t really recognise me. But it was great kudos – my schoolmates would say ‘does she know you?’ ‘Oh yes, we go back a long way, Billie Jean and I’.
Read Moreby Katrina Allen
This article first appeared in Languedoc Living
There was some debate as to whether the tournament would actually take place this year. The air was thick with smog from the bushfires during the qualifying, causing problems with breathing and one player even withdrawing part way though her match.
Read More“We know that homosexuality is a lust of the flesh … they too know this, this is why they want marriage, because it’s self-satisfying…my belief is marriage the bible way.”
“Transgender children are the work of the devil.”
“Tennis is full of lesbians.”
These are just a few quotes from Margaret Court, senior pastor and former Australian world No1 tennis player, in response to the country’s vote in November, on same-sex marriage.
VINCE CALIGIURI/GETTY IMAGES
Former tennis great Margaret Court whose comments on homosexuality have prompted calls for a name change for Melbourne’s Margaret Court Arena.
Have you never heard of Claire Fahey?
Well, that’s probably because she’s at the top of the somewhat obscure game of Real Tennis, the predecessor of the sport that we see today at Wimbledon.
Real Tennis was invented in around the 12th century by French monks and the rules are fiendishly complicated.
The balls are hand-made and heavy, rather like a cricket ball but covered in felt. The rackets are not entirely symmetrical and are made of wood. Graphite is banned since the game would simply be too dangerous with those heavy balls.
OPINION: Earlier this year, Martina Navratilova, a much-lauded lesbian role model, caused a media storm with her remarks on transgender athletes, saying: “It’s insane and it’s cheating.”
https://www.wimbledondebentureholders.com/articles/federer-and-murray-win-wimbledon-warm-up-titles/
This was published in Stuff.co.nz
Endless suffering of Andy Murray raises questions around player welfare
OPINION: Exactly one year ago former world No 1 Andy Murray pulled out of Aussie Open citing a hip injury.
Shortly after, he made a major decision – to have surgery on that hip.
He seemed very positive after the operation, fairly certain that he would make a full recovery and get back to business.
Read MoreThe big news of the fortnight was Andy Murray tearfully announcing his retirement. Exactly one year ago, he had surgery on his hip and never really recovered. He came back at Queen’s last June but was clearly not in great shape, pulling out of Wimbledon a couple of weeks later and hadn’t won any major tournaments since.
He lost in a tight five-setter against Bautista-Agut and didn’t appear to be hampered but who knows how he felt the next day. He’s hoping to make his farewell at Wimbledon but isn’t sure if he’ll be able to play without too much pain in the months prior. So this may have been his finale .
Read MoreNice to get this from a reader:Hi, I really enjoy reading Languedoc Living every day. I especially appreciate Katrina Allen’s updates on the major tennis tournaments and I totally endorse her article about Serena’s behaviour in the US Open’s Ladies Final.
I would like to point out that Serena screams racism; doesn’t screaming abuse at a Portuguese umpire constitute racism? I would have thought so.
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